Record attendance at Warracknabeal Australia Day breakfast

Sunday 26 January 2025 was the 15th Australia Day Breakfast hosted by the Rotary Club of Warracknabeal.

Guest speaker Matt Rosa (right) with John Aitken.

Australia Day Committee Chair, John Aitken said it was great to see such great support for Australia Day, with our largest turnout to celebrate our National Day with over 350 people attending.

Highlights of this year’s breakfast included guest speaker Matt Rosa who played football locally, before being drafted by West Coast Eagles in 2004.

Matt played over 200 AFL games, finishing up at the Gold Coast Suns; and after various coaching roles, Matt is now General Manager - List and Recruiting at the Essendon Football Club.

Matt spoke about how lucky he was to play with three Brownlow Medallists: Chris Judd, Ben Cousins and Gary Ablett Jnr.

Matt’s message was that you have to keep working to be the best person you can be, focus on personal development and make the most of your opportunities.

The winners of this year's Australia Day Awards were: Citizen of the Year was Dianne Marchment, Sportsman of the Year-Barry Schilling and Young Achiever-Ava Koschitzke.

Dianne has dedicated probably thousands of hours to this community, making significant contributions to many organisations and having a real influence on the vibrance and sustainability of our community.

Barry has made significant contributions to both local and regional cricket and hockey over many decades, as both an administrator and a player. In both sports he has taken on leadership roles as president, coach and umpire as well as volunteering much of his time.

Ava has an impressive list of achievements, both academically and on the sporting field. A VCE student at Warracknabeal Secondary College, Ava had a stellar 2024 year- as joint school captain, sports captain, Student Representative Council member, Principal’s awardee and then Ava capped off the year with the most prestigious award, Dux of the College.

The other presentations reflected the theme of celebrating diversity and disability with a presentation to the Wimmera Whippets Football team, represented by team members Merryn Baxter, Lisa Ryan and Callum Byrnes.

They were supported by Matt Jolley, from the Wimmera Regional Sports Assembly, which established the Whippets in 2014, Merryn Baxter, was an inaugural member of the Whippets.

During the 2024 season, eight of the 27 football participants were Warracknabeal residents, with many other players connected to the Warracknabeal community through their association with Woodbine.

The Rotary Club of Warracknabeal presented a cheque for $1,000 to help the Whippets with the ongoing costs of competing in regional competitions.

Musical Items were provided by Curl Taylor and Les Patten, Brylie Chivell who gave a solo performance and also led the Guides and Scouts in performing Advance Australia Fair to open the celebrations.

water, and tea or coffee.

After the celebrations, Woodbine slices were provided for morning tea with many staying to continue the conversations and catch up with friends and family.

The Australia Day Breakfast began at 8am and the last attendees left after 11am having enjoyed a great morning of community celebration and friendship, which addressed the Australia Day Themes: Reflect, Respect and Celebrate, as we enjoy community life and friendship in rural Australia.

Contributed by John Aitken